Membership: Recruiting is a promise; retaining is delivering on that promise

Membership: Recruiting is a promise; retaining is delivering on that promise

American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard’s theme is “No Veteran Left Behind.” Those words have been at the very core of our existence as the premier veteran service organization since our inception in 1919. 

Decade after decade, we have delivered on the promise of taking care of our veterans while continuing our honest and faithful service to this great nation. 

Our strength in advocating for those few selfless Americans, who currently wear and have worn the uniform of our nation, has always been our unified voice. That voice is projected in the halls of Congress and in our local communities by our membership body. 

We must maintain the quality of our ranks. But to preserve the legacy of our American Legion in veteran advocacy we must maintain the quantity in our ranks as well. Our time is now. 

The American Legion has been the tip of the spear in every challenge our veteran population has faced since the horrors experienced in World War I. Every few decades a crisis in our military ranks occurs that we have addressed head on. We have delivered quality health care, education and dignified treatment for our veterans. We have delivered so much more, but our work never ends and never will. For every generation of warfighter, there are new challenges that must be addressed. 

Our mission is enduring.  

Over 800,000 brave Americans have served in Afghanistan. Our veterans, many suffering from the visible and invisible scars of that war, may have or are having a crisis of identity. We recognize that a fellow veteran shaking their hand, telling them that their service mattered, and expressing a love that can only be shared among a warrior culture means the world to them.

We, The American Legion, are the destination for those veterans who may face that existential crisis of identity. We, The American Legion, are the family that must embrace our fellow servicemembers and help solve this generation’s most profound crisis: veteran suicide. 

Working membership is never ending. We are recruiting from an extraordinarily small pool of selfless Americans who served this nation during a critical time in their lives when many still must work to pay the bills and be available to tend to their children. 

We are asked to offer those veterans a sense of community they may not even be aware they need yet. 

Once we recruit them into our ranks we must work diligently to give them cause to continue their membership. 

We know there are challenges to recruiting and retention, but facing challenge is wired into our DNA. We, as veterans, are defined by our willingness and ability to overcome extraordinary challenges. 

Our greatest recruiting and retention tool is honesty. Our mandate is to simply be the best version of a veteran service organization possible, guided by our principles and our four pillars. 

It means we work tirelessly to improve our standing in the communities we serve. It means that we are there, at the point of friction, when the veteran needs us. We meet them where they need us, not where it’s convenient for us. It means that we work to provide solutions to problems — past, present and future. We take care of our own. We conduct Buddy Checks on all veterans, not just members! We show that we care so that all veterans can find home in our ranks. 

To be the loudest voice, to make sure that no veteran is left behind, we must refresh our ranks regularly with future leaders of this organization. Membership and post activities is not only what we do, but who we are. We must continue to offer training to our departments and posts and give them the tools they need to grow their membership and become more active. It is only through consistent post activities that will sustain our membership.

National Commander Dillard has asked us to put our best foot forward and recruit 103 percent of last year’s goal. He has asked us to retain 90 percent of our members so that we can develop those future leaders and continue our advocacy on Capitol Hill. You can read more about this membership effort at  legion.org/dispatch in my November Dispatch message titled “Membership renewal challenge.” 

As a reminder, the 80 percent membership target date is Jan. 20, 2022. Let’s meet that target! 

I also want to see lots of Post Honor Ribbons awarded to posts whose membership for the current membership year (as of December 31) achieves an advance membership (for the year about to begin) equal to or greater than the final membership for the year ending.

As you may have heard before, recruiting veterans into The American Legion is about making a promise to take care of them. Retaining them in The American Legion is about delivering on that promise. 

I humbly ask that you join me in the effort to grow our ranks, develop our future leaders, and to pledge another 100 years as the world’s premier veteran service organization.